Thor: Love and Thunder blows into theaters this week, so start brandishing your hammers, Marvel fans. It’s about time you caught up on everything crucial about the Norse god’s upcoming fourth solo adventure, which is about to begin in every country on Earth.
The following Marvel movie, which debuts in theaters on July 8, should be something you’re looking forward to (albeit July 7 in some regions). Due to the fact that it was directed by Taika Waititi, who previously produced Thor: Ragnarok, the best standalone film starring the thunder god, you can be sure that it will be a superhero film full of humor, heart, and nostalgia for the 1980s. Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as a member of the film’s all-star cast, joining Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.
Thor: Thunder and Love is not experiencing a double lightning strike. The second film directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Ragnarok, an acclaimed remake of the Chris Hemsworth character Thor, opened to less positive reviews than its predecessor from 2017. A “fresh” Rotten Tomatoes rating for Thor: Love and Thunder, a Marvel Studios movie that teams Thor with Jane Foster’s Mjolnir-wielding Mighty Thor (Natalie Portman) after the events of Avengers: Endgame, is now resting at 70% acceptance from critics. With 138 reviews, the 29th MCU movie has a higher rating than Thor: The Dark World (2013) but a lower rating than Ragnarok (93 percent certified fresh) and Thor (2011). (66%) of it is fresh.
Ragnarok ranks fifth among the highest-rated Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, behind Black Panther (96 percent), Avengers: Endgame (94 percent), Iron Man (94 percent), and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Love and Thunder debuted among the lowest-rated movies on the reviews aggregator, whereas Ragnarok ranks among the highest-rated Marvel Cinematic Universe movies (93 percent).
On the other end of the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer are Iron Man 2 (fresh at 72 percent as of late Tuesday), Thor: Love and Thunder (fresh at 70 percent), The Incredible Hulk (fresh at 67 percent), Thor: The Dark World (fresh at 66 percent), and Eternals (rotten at 47 percent). The lone “rotten” rating for Marvel Studios and the MCU film with the lowest rating is still Eternals.
In a review without spoilers, comic book critic Jenna Anderson claims: “The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) needed a balm, and when Ragnarok debuted in 2017, it proved to be just that. It gave the previously painfully somber Thor movies bright aesthetics à la Jack Kirby, ’80s camp, and a subtly profound emotional core. It would have been simple to imagine Love and Thunder as essentially accomplishing the same, but on a larger scale. Ragnarok provides a new tonal shorthand for the MCU’s possibilities in certain respects.”
The investigation continues. “Instead, the film adopts a tone that, even when it’s utterly absurd or neon-hued, might be best described as relaxed. The stakes in Love and Thunder are certainly lower and more intimate in scope than those in Ragnarok or even the larger universe of superhero movies, despite the fact that almost all of them are life-or-death scenarios. The greatest scenes in the film often merely feature two individuals conversing, thanks to the way Waititi and co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson approach conversation, which helps the film keep its lighthearted but real tone throughout.”
Thor is anticipated to electrify the box office with a potent $300 million global premiere when Love and Thunder debuts for Thursday previews on July 7.
Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe, Jaimie Alexander, Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper play the Guardians of the Galaxy in Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder, which makes its theatrical debut on July 8 exclusively.
